The Haftarah for Tetzaveh: Rebuilding

Hebrew 

[Now] you, O mortal, describe the Temple to the House of Israel, and let them measure its design. But let them be ashamed of their iniquities. When they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the plan of the Temple and its layout, its exits and entrances—its entire plan, and all the laws and instructions pertaining to its entire plan. Write it down before their eyes, that they may faithfully follow its entire plan and all its laws. (Ezekiel 43:10-11)

By the rivers of Babylon, the prophet Ezekiel is commanded to convey a double message to the Israelites, of both hope and repentance. The hope is that they will eventually be able to rebuild the Temple, according to the precise description given by the prophet.[1] The repentance entails remorse for their actions, but the causal connection between the two is vague.

Rashi (Troyes, France, 11th century) understood that the description of the future temple was intended to be an ameliorating factor: “I show them that in My loving-kindness I have not rejected them for their iniquity.” In other words, the knowledge that God has not abandoned God’s people provides the protective context without which repentance is frightening.

For Rabbi David Kimchi (Provence, 12th century), the causal relationship is more direct; the people’s sins caused the destruction of the Temple. Confronting with the consequences of destruction ought to rattle them into understanding that actions have consequences and that they bear at least some degree of responsibility for their current situation. The rest of his words must be read very carefully, “Tell them that the future temple will never be destroyed because they will do not sin.” This is not a promise that the future temple will never be destroyed regardless of circumstances, but rather that it will stand forever because they will not continue to sin. As we well know, the Second Temple was indeed destroyed.

According to Don Isaac Abravanel (Portugal and Italy, 15th century), the subject of Ezekiel’s prophecy is not past sins that caused the First Temple to be destroyed, but rather his listeners’ current sins that prevent the return to Zion:

It is more correct to interpret that because the Israelites in Ezekiel’s day sinned by worshipping the sun and moon, God commanded the prophet to tell them everything he saw in his prophecy about rebuilding of the Temple, so that they would separate themselves, pay attention to the details of the Temple, measure its pattern, and thereby... realize their mistaken worship.

Perhaps they are all correct. Durable reconstruction depends on recognizing the mistakes that caused the destruction, and also those that currently prevent restoration, which can best be clarified and repaired in a non-confrontational environment.

The First Temple was destroyed. The Second Temple was destroyed. The State of Israel suffered a severe blow but is still standing. As we read in Ezekiel's prophecy, rehabilitation depends on soul-searching.

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[1] The details are not identical to those given in the Book of Exodus, but that is not relevant here.

How do we Bless? Parashat Yitro 5724

Hebrew

“Every act of reading from the Torah is a new giving of the Torah, a revival of the wondrous stand at the foot of the flaming mountain. The reading of the Torah is a ‘staging’ of the giving of the Torah and a renewal of the awesome, sublime experience, The revelational experience is reenacted whenever the Torah scroll is removed from the ark for reading in the synagogue,” wrote Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (adapted from And from There You Shall Seek, Naomi Blum, trans.). Therefore, he would stand for the entire reading, all year round. That is a rare custom; most of us make do with standing during the readings of the Song of the Sea and the Ten Commandments, in order to evoke the feeling of “we were there.” Not only the standing, but the very reading from a Torah scroll written on parchment and the entire accompanying ritual were meant to create an elevated experience. If the purpose of the reading were limited to conveying information, we would read from a printed book, which would be more accurate, more convenient, and faster.

The full ritual surrounding the reading of the Torah developed slowly over the centuries,[1] but some important components are based on another formative event in the history of our nation, the precedent-setting reading of the Torah after the first return to Zion, as narrated in the Book of Nehemiah (8:5-6): “Ezra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; as he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra blessed the ETERNAL, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen.’”

This is the first mention of a blessing on reading Torah. The text of Ezra’s blessing has not been preserved. In the Babylonian Talmud, the sages discuss the obligation to recite a blessing before and after a public reading of the Torah but prescribe a text only for the blessings on individual Torah study. Faced with the three persuasive proposals, the Sages chose a clearly Talmudic compromise: say them all.

The first blessing in this series (on page 25 in Siddur veAni Tefillati) begins as a regular mitzvah blessing “which we sanctified with his commandments and commandments” but the ending varies between manuscripts of the Talmud, with a corresponding difference in prayer customs, even today. In Ashkenazi versions, the ending is “to engage  לעסוקin the words of the Torah.” Note the verb “to engage,” to be actively involved. When we hear, read or study Torah, the mitzvah is to bring with us all our knowledge, wisdom, life experience and concern.

The well-known blessing “Who chose us from among all the nations and gave us Torah…. giver of the Torah” originates in the same paragraph. It was adopted for public reading as early as the ninth century, in Babylon, and is found in Seder Rav Amram, the earliest Siddur that survived to our day.

Tractate Soferim, compiled in the Land of Israel, sometime after the Talmud, states, “An individual who rises early to read [=study] says the blessing, “Who gave us Torah from heaven and eternal life from on high….” (13:8).

Some time later, also in the Land of Israel, midrash Deuteronomy Rabbah was compiled, combining law and narrative. After stating, “A Jew who ascends to read Torah [in our terminology, “is given an aliyah”] is not allowed to read prior to blessing,” the Midrash returns us to Mount Sinai. If any Jew must bless when going up to the Torah, surely Moses blessed when he went up to receive it. –– May Moshe ben Amram Halevi and Yocheved stand for the first aliyah! –– Rabbi Elazar asks, “What blessing did Moses say?” and replies, “Who chose this Torah, and sanctified and desires those who fulfill [literally, “do”] it.” The Midrash goes on to emphasize, “And he did not say ‘those who pour over it,’ and he did not say ‘those who think about it,’ but rather ‘those who do it,’ those who fulfill words of the Torah” (11:6).

The blessings from Tractate Soferim and Deuteronomy Rabbah are likely familiar to many of you. Rabbi Tzvi Graetz presented them in his class on liturgy according to the ancient rite of the Land of Israel, based on the work of the late Rabbi Simcha Roth and his father, Rabbi Michael Graetz; some members have adopted themas their practice when having an aliyah. Over the past two weeks, I corresponded and conversed with some of them, in order to understand what motivates them. They all responded similarly: discontent (to put it mildly) with the idea that God has chosen Israel from all nations. For example:

One of my problems with the God who chooses is that I don’t think that God can also be the “God of truth and justice,” because when there is preference, there is no justice. When I had an aliyah I said, “With all nations,” but that was an evasion, not a statement. When I learned this blessing, it spoke to me and I was happy to discover that there are other ways to give thanks for the Torah without appropriating it and without aggrandizing ourselves.

I share this position but also want to nuance it. With all the problematics of being people that considers itself as chosen and exalted, we are nonetheless blessing – in one form or another – a Torah in which God makes a special covenant with Abraham and his descendants. For me, the crucial point is not the choice but the doing, as the blessing states, “Who sanctified and desires those who fulfill it.” The important thing is not only to receive Torah but to enact the righteousness, justice and loving kindness that it commands.

Similarly, the blessing formulated by Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan[2] – also accepted for use at Hod veHadar – “Who has drawn us to God’s work and given us Torah” highlights the work/service to which we are called.

My perspective also leaves room for God to make covenants with other peoples. Parents can love more than one child and know how to assign each one a suitable role. So, too, one God can relate to many peoples.

Just as Moses ascends a fiery mountain to receive the Torah, the prophet Isaiah (chapter 8, this week’s Haftarah) beholds Divinity (and also seraphim) through smoke. He hears the chant, “Holy, holy, holy,” and then “the voice of my Sovereign saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’” The prophet replies, “Here am I; send me.”
After the Kedusha (vision of holiness) comes mission.

May we hear the commanding voice in the fog and know how to say, “Here am I; send me.”

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[1] Rabbi Prof. Ruth Langer, “Sinai, Zion, and God in the Synagogue.”

[2] Apparently based on the Passover Haggadah, “From the beginning, our ancestors were idol worshipers. And now, the Place [of all] has brought us close to His worship” or the holiday musaf service.